Overview of sanitary napkins (menstrual pads) of past and present

The history of feminine hygiene is much more extensive than I could imagine. Due to the vast amount of information to choose from, I dedicate this hub to an overview of sanitary napkins in the Western world.

Women in agrarian societies typically menstruate less than women in modern industrialized societies. Because women weigh more than they did in the past, women tend to start their periods at younger ages and stop them at older ages (fat cells produce more estrogen). Scholars also suggest that hormones in modern food have led to earlier menstruation.

Prior to the 20th century, European and American women menstruated infrequently compared with today. They

• started menstruating later, frequently in the mid to late teens, and stopped earlier, if they lived long enough to experience menopause, thus creating a shorter time for menstruation
• married earlier and bore children at an earlier age, which reduced menstruation
• had more children, and used less contraception, stopping menstruation for long periods
• breast fed their children longer (and more often), which usually stopped menstruation
• were more likely to be under- and malnourished or sick, or any combination thereof, which can stop menstruation
• died earlier

Some of the most common forms of protection were grass, rabbit skins, sponges, rags, menstrual aprons, homemade knitted pads or other kinds of absorbents.

Menstrual huts were common features in premodern cultures. They were a place where women were separated from the community during their menses for various reasons ranging from fear to respect.

Probably since the tenth century, women often used strips of cloth or rags to provide menstrual protection which they would wash and reuse. Which is why the term "on the rag" is used to refer to menstruation.

Apparently many women in certain parts of Europe from 1700 to about 1900 also used nothing special during menstruation, but bled into their clothing.

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Changes and progress in feminine hygiene products that we see today were made around the twentieth century.

In the United States progressive values began to shape beliefs and values in the early 20th century. After the Civil War and at the onset of industrialization, men moved in large numbers from farms to factories. Women joined them in increasing numbers entering sales and clerical work.

Modern menstrual management was made possible by the modern American movement.

Sex education programs, menstrual product advertisement and promotion in drug stores, and free, readily available menstrual education pamphlets broadly distributed modern approaches to menstruation. Equally important were newly emphasized values of efficiency, convenience, and consistent, carefully monitored self-presentation, which in turn supported new roles for women in school and in the workplace.

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Disposable pads owe their origin to nurses, who first came up with the idea of holding the flow of menstrual blood with the help of available wood pulp bandages in the hospital. Nurses in France used these bandages for menstrual pads, which they liked because they were very absorbent, and they were cheap enough to throw away.

The manufacturers of bandages borrowed the idea and produced pads made from handy products that were inexpensive enough to be disposed.

The Kimberly-Clark Company made bandages from wood pulp for American soldiers in the First World War.

The first of the disposable pads were generally in the form of a cotton wool or similar fibrous rectangle covered with an absorbent liner. The liner ends were extended front and back so as to fit through loops in a special girdle or belt worn beneath undergarments. This design was notorious for slipping either forward or back of the intended position.

Johnson & Johnson's sanitary napkins were said to be the first commercially available disposable sanitary protection products for women in the United States. The earliest ones the Company sold were called “Sanitary Napkins for Ladies” and “Lister’s Towels” (introduced in 1896).

The advertisements said “Lister’s Towels, Sanitary for Ladies.” But the problem was that women didn’t want to be seen buying sanitary towels for ladies. So in the 1920s, the Company came out with Nupak, a brand name that could be safely asked for without being descriptive of what the product did. The box had a label on one side with just the brand name and the company name. The other sides of the box were plain so that it could be carried or stored without embarrassment.

Kotex, first called Cellucotton and Cellu-naps, was put on the market around 1920/1921. These didn’t begin to be accepted until about 1926 when Montgomery Ward actually advertised the product in its catalogue.

Even after disposable pads were commercially available, for several years they were too expensive for many women to afford. When they could be afforded, women were allowed to place money in a box so that they would not have to speak to the clerk and take a box of Kotex pads from the counter themselves. It took several years for disposable menstrual pads to become commonplace.

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Apparently women did not wear underpants until the upper classes started doing so in the nineteenth century, probably originally developed in England for children to shield their legs and genitals from view when playing at school.

The first ones were essentially two long leg tubes joined at the waist, leaving a large gap in the crotch, enabling the woman to perform bodily functions without lowering them.

Later in the century the gap was closed, and the legs became shorter. Sears sold a form of children's diapers early in the century which actually looked like today's briefs for both sexes.

In 1922 Sears advertised "sanitary bloomers" for night wear, which look like the briefs we know.

It wasn't until 1935 that Sears sold what we would call briefs for women to wear in non-menstrual situations.

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In 1928, Johnson & Johnson started including silent purchase coupons in magazine ads for Modess. These could be cut out of the advertisements and silently presented to a salesperson, without the customer ever having to utter the name of the product. The product – still in a plain box so as not to cause undue embarrassment, could then be wrapped up in brown paper and taken home. A Ladies Home Journal ad stated, “In order that Modess may be obtained in a crowded store without embarrassment or discussion, Johnson & Johnson devised the Silent Purchase Coupon presented below. Simply cut it out and hand it to the sales person. You will receive one box of Modess. Could anything be easier?” (Ladies Home Journal ad for Modess, June, 1928.)

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Johnson & Johnson considers the "Modess ....because" high fashion ads one of its most famous ad campaigns.

In the early part of the 20th century, women’s sanitary protection was a notoriously tricky product category to advertise, and the brand had not been doing well.

General Robert Wood Johnson, the son of Company founder Robert Wood Johnson, was chairman of Johnson & Johnson at that time. General Johnson liked to attend advertising strategy meetings, and he suggested the Company link its new ad campaign to high fashion, and make it completely different than anything seen before. So the product director and the agency hired the top fashion houses to design gowns to be used exclusively for the ads, and used top fashion photographers to take pictures of famous models wearing the gowns in exotic locations, such as palaces and art museums. But the Company still was confronted with the fact that women just didn’t like reading ads about sanitary protection. When it came time to write the advertising copy, the story goes that General Johnson said to use as few words as possible, like a sentence, or a phrase…or maybe just two words, and he suggested “Modess ….because.” (Most ads of the era tended to be pretty wordy, so the Modess ads really stood out.) The ad campaign was a huge hit and sales soared. It was later recognized as one of the hundred all-time great advertisements.

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Stayfree was the first beltless napkin, the pad was made to include an adhesive underside that stuck to the underwear securing its position. This created a revolution.

New brands followed suit. The industry boomed in the seventies and eighties. The new generation was not shy about sanitary pads, manufacturers promoted their products extensively using television commercials.

By the mid-eighties the belted napkin was no longer available.

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Reusable cloth menstrual pads made a return around the seventies, with their popularity increasing in the late eighties and early nineties. They have become a popular alternative among some groups of women, (e.g. feminists, environmentalists and mothers who use cloth nappies/diapers) and are also gaining in popularity among more mainstream women, because they are allergen-, chemical- and perfume-free, and can be more comfortable for women who suffer from irritations from using disposable pads.

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Always, which began in 1983, became an industry leader by introducing innovations such as wings on maxi pads, the soft cotton-like Dri-Weave material, Ultra Thin pads, the Clean wipes, Infinity pad with Microdots for fast absorption, Flexi-Style unique wraparound edges that fold under to fit multiple panty styles and Dri-Liners Plus with Odor-Lock for bladder leaks.

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Always revolutionary Ultra Thin pads are made of cotton wool mixed with special polymer crystals designed to absorb liquid. Once liquid enters the pad, the polymer crystals absorbs it, and turning it into a gel-like substance thus trapping it inside the pad. The top layer of the pad is designed to let liquid into the pad, but stops the gel from getting out. This is why the pad feels dry and comfortable against the skin during use. All pads are basically made in the same way. The difference lies in the amount of cotton/polymer mix used. The more cotton/polymer used, the more liquid the pad can absorb.

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As you can see, the sanitary napkin evolved quickly over the past century, reflecting the rapid lifestyle changes of women. We've certainly come a long way. And I am thankful that today's products make it easier to be a woman.

Museum of Menstruation & Women's Health http://www.mum.org/pastgerm.htm

"The modern period: menstruation in twentieth-century America" by Lara Freidenfelds

The story of Johnson & Johnson http://www.kilmerhouse.com/2008/02/the-product-that-dared-not-speak-its-name/